1.
History of the European Union
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The European Union is a geo-political entity covering a large portion of the European continent. It is founded upon numerous treaties and has undergone expansions that have taken it from 6 member states to 28, both the ECSC and EEC were later incorporated into the European Union while the EAEC maintains a distinct legal identity despite sharing members and institutions. The Maastricht Treaty created the European Union with its pillars system, including foreign and this in turn led to the creation of the single European currency, the euro. The Maastricht Treaty has been amended by the treaties of Amsterdam, Nice, large areas of Europe had previously been united by empires built on force, such as the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Frankish Empire, the First French Empire and Nazi Germany. An example of an organisation formed to promote the association of states between the wars to promote the idea of European union is the Pan-Europa movement, World War II from 1939 to 1945 saw a human and economic catastrophe which hit Europe hardest. It demonstrated the horrors of war, and also of extremism, through the Holocaust, once again, there was a desire to ensure it could never happen again, particularly with the war giving the world nuclear weapons. Most European countries failed to maintain their Great Power status leaving two rival ideologically opposed superpowers, however, the exception was the USSR, which became a superpower after World War II and maintained the status for 45 years. To ensure Germany could never threaten the peace again, its industry was partly dismantled and its main coal-producing regions were detached. With statements such as Winston Churchills 1946 call for a United States of Europe becoming louder and it gave birth to the first institutions, such as the High Authority and the Common Assembly. The first presidents of institutions were Jean Monnet and Paul-Henri Spaak respectively. The attempt to turn the Saar protectorate into a European territory was rejected by a referendum in 1955, the Saar was to have been governed by a statute supervised by a European Commissioner reporting to the Council of Ministers of the Western European Union. After failed attempts at creating defence and political communities, leaders met at the Messina Conference, the report was accepted at the Venice Conference where the decision was taken to organise an Intergovernmental Conference. The two new communities were created separately from ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly, the executives of the new communities were called Commissions, as opposed to the High Authority. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom would integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union between members. Throughout the 1960s tensions began to show with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. While the political progress of the Communities was hesitant in the 1960s, after much negotiation, and following a change in the French Presidency, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom eventually joined the European Communities on 1 January 1973. This was the first of several enlargements which become a policy area of the Union. In 1979, the European Parliament held its first direct elections by universal suffrage,410 members were elected, who then elected the first female President of the European Parliament, Simone Veil
2.
Ideas of European unity before 1945
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The idea of European unity is a historically recent concept. It was the Greek civilisation that first used these names in their modern senses, the first proposal for peacefully unifying Europe against a common enemy emerged after the Fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453. George of Podebrady, a Hussite king of Bohemia, proposed in 1464 a union of European, Christian nations against the Turks. However, his proposal was based on the shared religious ideology. The idea of Germany and Europe being coterminous was taken to its conclusion by Adolf Hitler. Kikuchi Yoshio of Meiji University suggested that the notion of Holy Roman Empire as a political entity influenced the later structural ideas of the European Union. In 1728, Abbot Charles de Saint-Pierre proposed the creation of a European league of 18 sovereign states, with common treasury, no borders, some suggestion of a European union can be inferred from Immanuel Kants 1795 proposal for an eternal peace congress. In the 1800s, customs union under Napoleon Bonapartes Continental system was promulgated in November 1806 as an embargo of British goods in the interests of French hegemony, felix Markham notes how during a conversation on St. In the conservative reaction after Napoleons defeat in 1815, the German Confederation was established as an association of thirty-eight sovereign German states formed by the Congress of Vienna. Napoleon had swept away the Holy Roman Empire and simplified the map of Germany, in 1834, the Zollverein was formed among the states of the Confederation, to create better trade flow and reduce internal competition. An extension of this union may have been become the model for a unified Europe. The then current ideas of geopolitics and a Mitteleuropa were also influential in providing a framework for European Union in Germany. United States of Europe was also the name of the concept presented by Wojciech Jastrzębowski in About eternal peace between the nations, published 31 May 1831, the project consisted of 77 articles. The envisioned United States of Europe was to be an international rather than a superstate. Italian writer and politician Giuseppe Mazzini called for the creation of a federation of European republics in 1843 and this set the stage for perhaps the best known early proposal for peaceful unification, through cooperation and equality of membership, made by the pacifist Victor Hugo in 1847. Hugo used the term United States of Europe during a speech at the International Peace Congress, organised by Mazzini, a day will come when we shall see. The United States of America and the United States of Europe face to face, however, he was laughed out of the hall, yet returned to his idea again in 1851. Victor Hugo planted a tree in the grounds of his residence on the Island of Guernsey he was noted in saying that when this tree matured the United States of Europe would have come into being
3.
History of the European Union since 2004
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The history of the European Union since 2004 was a period of significant upheaval and reform following the 2004 enlargement of the European Union. The EU had just taken on ten new members, eight of which were much poorer than the EU average and it had just created the euro a few years before and had to expand this, and the Schengen Area to its new members. However this was overshadowed by the recession and damaging disputes over the European Constitution and its successor. Throughout this period, José Manuel Barroso was President of the European Commission, on the 10–13 June 2004, the 25 member states participated in the largest trans-national election in history. The result of the sixth Parliamentary election was a victory for the European Peoples Party-European Democrats group. It also saw the lowest voter turnout of 45. 5%, there was strong backing for Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from Republic of Ireland, France and Germany who saw him as a convinced European and also a fighter. However the federalist was opposed by Spain the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland due to his opposition to the Iraq War. Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was also a candidate but did not wish to take up the job. Other candidates were High Representative Javier Solana and President of the Parliament Pat Cox however both were light candidates, however Barroso emerged as a leading candidate despite his support for the Iraq War and being seen as the lowest common denominator following objections to other candidates. The Parliament approved Barroso as president on 22 July 2004 by 413 votes to 215 with most of his coming from the EPP-ED group. He did however earn praise for his choice of candidates. During the hearings, members found fault in a number of Commissioners, committees questioned the suitability of Ingrida Udre, László Kovács, Neelie Kroes and Mariann Fischer-Boel. The Socialists were the most vocal critics of Barroso and his proposed Commission, the Peoples Party demanded that if Buttiglione were to go, then a Socialist commissioner must also be sacrificed for balance. Barroso eventually gave in and withdrew his proposed college of Commissioners and, Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU on 1 January 2007 with each being granted a single Commissioner, increasing the college of Commissioners to 27 members. Both new Commissioners were approved by the Parliament on 12 December 2006, meglena Kuneva was proposed by Bulgaria and was assigned the Consumer Protection portfolio, previously part of the joint Health & Consumer Protection portfolio. She was welcomed by Parliament with the Peoples Party and Socialists being impressed by her aims, Kuneva had 583 votes in favour,21 votes against and 28 votes abstentions. That nomination was replaced by Leonard Orban who was given the portfolio of Multilingualism, previously part of Education and this however was met a cool reception for being such a slim portfolio. Socialist leader Martin Schulz MEP suggested it should focus on ethnic minorities
4.
European Communities
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The European Communities, sometimes referred to as the European Community, were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. When the Communities were incorporated into the European Union in 1993, the European Coal and Steel Community ceased to exist in 2002 when its founding treaty expired. The European Community was dissolved into the European Union by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, euratom remained an entity distinct from the EU, but is governed by the same institutions. In 1957, the EAEC and EEC were created by the Treaties of Rome and they were to share some of the institutions of the ECSC but have separate executive structures. The ECSCs aim was to combine the coal and steel industries of its members to create a market in those resources. It was intended that this would increase prosperity and decrease the risk of these going to war through the process of European integration. The EAEC was working on nuclear energy co-operation between the members, the EEC was to create a customs union and general economic co-operation. It later led to the creation of a European single market, the ECSCs treaty had a 50-year limit and thus expired in 2002, all its activities are now absorbed into the European Community. The EAEC had no limit and thus continues to exist. As the EAEC has a low profile, and the profile of the European Community is dwarfed by that of the EU, the Commission and Council of the EEC were to take over the responsibilities of its counterparts in the other organisations. The Maastricht Treaty built upon the Single European Act and the Solemn Declaration on European Union in the creation of the European Union, the treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 and came into force on 1 November 1993. The Union superseded and absorbed the European Communities as one of its three pillars, the first Commission President following the creation of the EU was Jacques Delors, who briefly continued his previous EEC tenure before handing over to Jacques Santer in 1994. Only the first pillar followed the principles of supranationalism, the pillar structure of the EU allowed the areas of European co-operation to be increased without leaders handing a large amount of power to supranational institutions. The pillar system segregated the EU, what were formerly the competencies of the EEC fell within the European Community pillar. Justice and Home Affairs was introduced as a new pillar while European Political Cooperation became the second pillar, the Community institutions became the institutions of the EU but the roles of the institutions between the pillars are different. The Commission, Parliament and Court of Justice are largely cut out of activities in the second and third pillars, with the Council dominating proceedings. This is reflected in the names of the institutions, the Council is formally the Council of the European Union while the Commission is formally the Commission of the European Communities. This allowed the new areas to be based on rather than majority voting
5.
European Coal and Steel Community
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The European Coal and Steel Community was an organisation of 6 European countries set up after World War II to regulate their industrial production under a centralised authority. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The ECSC was the first international organisation to be based on the principles of supranationalism, the ECSC was first proposed by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950 as a way to prevent further war between France and Germany. He declared his aim was to make war not only unthinkable but materially impossible which was to be achieved by regional integration, of which the ECSC was the first step. The Treaty would create a market for coal and steel among its member states which served to neutralise competition between European nations over natural resources, particularly in the Ruhr. These would ultimately form the blueprint for todays European Commission, European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the 1967 Merger Treaty led to all of ECSCs institutions to merge into that of the European Economic Community, but the ECSC retained its own independent legal personality. In 2002, the Treaty of Paris expired and the ECSC ceased to exist in any form, its activities fully absorbed by the European Community under the framework of Amsterdam and Nice treaties. Despite stiff ultra-nationalist, Gaullist and communist opposition, the French Assembly voted a number of resolutions in favour of his new policy of integrating Germany into a community, the International Authority for the Ruhr changed in consequence. Schumans guiding principles were moral, based on the equality of states, the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950 occurred after two Cabinet meetings, when the proposal became French government policy. France was thus the first government to agree to surrender sovereignty in a supranational Community and it laid out a plan for a European Community to pool the coal and steel of its members in a common market. Such an act was intended to help economic growth and cement peace between France and Germany, who were historic enemies, Coal and steel were vital resources needed for a country to wage war, so pooling those resources between two such enemies was seen as more than symbolic. Schuman saw the decision of the French government on his proposal as the first example of a democratic and supranational Community, a new development in world history. The plan was seen by some, like Monnet, who crossed out Reuters mention of supranational in the draft and inserted federation. The Schuman Declaration that created the ECSC had several distinct aims and it would make war between member states impossible. It would transform Europe in a step by step process leading to the unification of Europe democratically and it would create the worlds first supranational institution. It would create the worlds first international anti-cartel agency and it would create a common market across the Community. It would, starting with the coal and steel sector, revitalise the whole European economy by similar community processes and it would improve the world economy and the developing countries, such as those in Africa. Firstly, it was intended to prevent further war between France and Germany and other states by tackling the cause of war
6.
European Economic Community
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The European Economic Community was a regional organisation which aimed to bring about economic integration among its member states. It was created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, upon the formation of the European Union in 1993, the EEC was incorporated and renamed as the European Community. In 2009 the ECs institutions were absorbed into the EUs wider framework and it gained a common set of institutions along with the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community as one of the European Communities under the 1965 Merger Treaty. In 1993, a single market was achieved, known as the internal market, which allowed for the free movement of goods, capital, services. In 1994, the market was formalised by the EEA agreement. This agreement also extended the market to include most of the member states of the European Free Trade Association. Upon the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 and this was also when the three European Communities, including the EC, were collectively made to constitute the first of the three pillars of the European Union, which the treaty also founded. The EEC was also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking countries and sometimes referred to as the European Community even before it was renamed as such in 1993. In 1951, the Treaty of Paris was signed, creating the European Coal and this was an international community based on supranationalism and international law, designed to help the economy of Europe and prevent future war by integrating its members. In the aim of creating a federal Europe two further communities were proposed, a European Defence Community and a European Political Community. While the treaty for the latter was being drawn up by the Common Assembly, the ECSC parliamentary chamber, after the Messina Conference in 1955, Paul Henri Spaak was given the task to prepare a report on the idea of a customs union. The so-called Spaak Report of the Spaak Committee formed the cornerstone of the negotiations at Val Duchesse castle in 1956. Together with the Ohlin Report the Spaak Report would provide the basis for the Treaty of Rome, in 1956, Paul Henri Spaak led the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom at the Val Duchesse castle, which prepared for the Treaty of Rome in 1957. The conference led to the signature, on 25 March 1957, the resulting communities were the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. These were markedly less supranational than the communities, due to protests from some countries that their sovereignty was being infringed. The first formal meeting of the Hallstein Commission, was held on 16 January 1958 at the Chateau de Val-Duchesse, the EEC was to create a customs union while Euratom would promote co-operation in the nuclear power sphere. The EEC rapidly became the most important of these and expanded its activities, one of the first important accomplishments of the EEC was the establishment of common price levels for agricultural products. In 1968, internal tariffs were removed on certain products, another crisis was triggered in regard to proposals for the financing of the Common Agricultural Policy, which came into force in 1962
7.
European Atomic Energy Community
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It is legally distinct from the European Union, but has the same membership, and is governed by many of the EUs institutions. Since 2014, Switzerland has also participated in Euratom programmes as an associated state, currently, its main focus is on the construction of the International Fusion Reactor ITER financed under the nuclear part of FP7. Euratom also provides a mechanism for providing loans to finance projects in the EU. It was established by the Euratom Treaty on 25 March 1957 alongside the European Economic Community, the Common Assembly proposed extending the powers of the European Coal and Steel Community to cover other sources of energy. However, Jean Monnet, ECSC architect and President, wanted a community to cover nuclear power. In the end, Monnet proposed the creation of separate atomic energy, the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom at Val Duchesse in 1956 drew up the essentials of the new treaties. Euratom would have its own Council and Commission, with fewer powers than the High Authority of the European Coal, on 25 March 1957, the Treaties of Rome were signed by the ECSC members and on 1 January 1958 they came into force. To save on resources, these separate executives created by the Rome Treaties were merged in 1965 by the Merger Treaty, in 1993, the Maastricht Treaty created the European Union, which absorbed the Communities into the European Community pillar, yet Euratom still maintained a distinct legal personality. The European Constitution was intended to consolidate all previous treaties and increase democratic accountability in them, the Euratom treaty had not been amended as the other treaties had, so the European Parliament had been granted few powers over it. The Euratom treaty thus remains in force relatively unamended from its original signing, as of 2016, EAEC had co-operation agreements of various scopes with eight countries, U. S. Japan, Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and South Africa. The United Kingdom announced its intention to withdraw from the EAEC on 26 January 2017, formal notice to withdraw from the EAEC was provided in March 2017. Withdrawal will only become effective following negotiations on the terms of the exit, which are scheduled to last two years
8.
Common Foreign and Security Policy
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This article deals with the workings of European Union foreign policy. For the relations between the European Union and third countries, see Foreign relations of the European Union, the Common Foreign and Security Policy is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a part of the EUs external relations. Decisions require unanimity among member states in the Council of the European Union, Foreign policy is chaired and represented by the EUs High Representative, currently Federica Mogherini. The CFSP sees the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as responsible for the defence of Europe. However, since 1999, the European Union is responsible for implementing such as peacekeeping and policing of treaties. A phrase often used to describe the relationship between the EU forces and NATO is separable, but not separate, the same forces and capabilities form the basis of both EU and NATO efforts, but portions can be allocated to the European Union if necessary. Co-operation in international negotiations, under the Common Commercial Policy. The CFSP itself has its origins in the formation of European Political Co-operation in 1970 and this includes promoting international co-operation, respect for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. The weaknesses evident in EPC, apparent, for example during the Yugoslav wars and that was consolidated in the Maastricht Treaty, which entered into force in 1993 and established the European Union. While the previously existing supranational European Economic Community became one of three pillars, two pillars were erected. The second CFSP-pillar was based on intergovernmentalism, which meant unanimity between members in the Council of Ministers and little influence by the other institutions, the Amsterdam Treaty created the office of the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy to co-ordinate and represent the EUs foreign policy. The Treaty of Lisbon took effect in December 2009 and brought an end to the pillar system, the CFSPs status of being a pillar thus ended. Since December 2011 the High Representative is in charge of the European External Action Service and it essentially is intended to be a common Foreign Office or Diplomatic Corps for the European Union. The European Council defines the principles and general guidelines for the CFSP as well as strategies to be implemented by the EU. On the basis of those guidelines the Council of Ministers adopts joint actions or common positions, joint actions address specific situations where operation action by the EU is considered necessary and lay down the objectives, scope and means to be made available to the EU. The Common Foreign and Security Policy requires unanimity among the now 28 member states on the policy to follow on any particular policy. Disagreements in CFSP, such as those that occurred over the war in Iraq, are not uncommon, the High Representative also coordinates the work of the European Union Special Representatives
9.
Western European Union
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The WEU was established by seven European nations allied with the United States during the Cold War. The states party to the Modified Treaty of Brussels consequently decided to terminate that treaty on 31 March 2010, on 30 June 2011, the WEU was officially declared defunct. The Treaty of Brussels was signed by the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and it was a mutual intergovernmental self-defence treaty which also promoted economic, cultural and social collaboration. As a result of the failure of the European Defence Community on 23 October 1954 the WEU was established by the Paris Agreements with the incorporation of Italy, on this occasion it was renamed the Western European Union. The defence efforts resulting from the Brussels Treaty took form as the Western Union Defence Organisation, the Brussels Pact had cultural and social clauses, concepts for the setting up of a Consultative Council. The basis for this was that a cooperation between Western nations would help stop the spread of Communism, notably, the role given to the WEU in the Amsterdam Treaty, was removed by the Nice Treaty. The Treaty of Lisbon has provisions for cooperation between the EU and both NATO and the WEU, however the defence commitment, of Article 4 of the Brussels Treaty, has not been subsumed. Article 42 of the Treaty of the European Union, as amended by the Treaty of Lisbon and his being head of both organisations permits him to oversee the ongoing transfer of functions from the WEU to the EU. With the transfer of responsibilities, the WEUs Parliamentary assembly was urged to dissolve itself, as it had a mandate to supervise WEU politics, not the EUs CSDP politics. But the Assembly saw itself as playing an important role, particularly with greater right of scrutiny, membership, experience, therefore, it renamed itself the Interim European Security and Defence Assembly and urged the European Convention to include it as a second chamber within the EUs institutional framework. Hence it argued it could effectively scrutinise the CSDP, help improve EU-NATO relations and be more suited, being composed of national parliamentarians, in 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon took over the WEUs mutual defence clause. There was much discussion about what to do with the WEU following the introduction of Lisbon, on 30 March 2010 in a Written Ministerial Statement UKs Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant gave notice that the UK intended to withdraw from the Western European Union within a year. On 31 March 2010 the German Foreign Affairs Ministry announced Germanys intention to withdraw from the Modified Brussels Treaty, on 30 June 2011 the WEU officially ceased to exist. The WEU was headquartered in Brussels, with a staff of 65 and it was composed of the Council of the WEU and the Assembly of the WEU. The WEU was led by a Council of Ministers, assisted by a Permanent Representatives Council on the ambassadorial level, social and cultural aspects of the Brussels Treaty were handed to the Council of Europe to avoid duplication of responsibilities within Europe. SD help A Parliamentary Assembly supervised the work of the Council, the Assembly of WEU was a consultative institution. The Independent European Program Group was established as a forum for cooperation in 1976 with the aim of creating a European Armaments Agency. Since 1993 the WEU armaments cooperation forum has been known as Western European Armaments Group, the body closed on 23 May 2005
10.
Treaties of the European Union
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The Treaties of the European Union are a set of international treaties between the European Union member states which sets out the EUs constitutional basis. They establish the various EU institutions together with their remit, procedures and objectives, the EU can only act within the competences granted to it through these treaties and amendment to the treaties requires the agreement and ratification of every single signatory. The treaties have been amended by other treaties over the 65 years since they were first signed. The consolidated version of the two treaties is regularly published by the European Commission. The two principal treaties on which the EU is based are the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. These main treaties have been altered by amending treaties at least once a decade since they came into force. Lisbon also made the Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding, though that is not a treaty per se, the troubled ratification of Lisbon has meant there is little climate for further reform in the next few years beyond accession treaties, which merely allow a new state to join. Following the preamble the treaty text is divided into six parts, Title 1, Common Provisions The first deals with common provisions. Article 1 establishes the European Union on the basis of the European Community, the member states share a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail. Article 3 then states the aims of the EU in six points, the first is simply to promote peace, European values and its citizens well-being. The second relates to free movement with external border controls are in place, point 3 deals with the internal market. Point 5 states the EU shall promote its values, contribute to eradicating poverty, observe human rights, the final sixth point states that the EU shall pursue these objectives by appropriate means according with its competences given in the treaties. Article 4 relates to member states sovereignty and obligations, Article 5 sets out the principles of conferral, subsidiarity and proportionality with respect to the limits of its powers. Article 6 binds the EU to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Article 7 deals with the suspension of a member state and article 8 deals with establishing close relations with neighbouring states. Title 2, Provisions on democratic principles Article 9 establishes the equality of national citizens, Article 10 declares that the EU is founded in representative democracy and that decisions must be taken as closely as possible to citizens. Article 12 gives national parliaments limited involvement in the legislative process and it obliges co-operation between these and limits their competencies to the powers within the treaties. Article 18 establishes the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Title 4, Provisions on enhanced cooperations Title 4 has only one article which allows a limited number of member states to co-operate within the EU if others are blocking integration in that field. Title 5, General provisions on the Unions external action and specific provisions on the Common Foreign, Article 21 deals with the principles that outline EU foreign policy, including compliance with the UN charter, promoting global trade, humanitarian support and global governance
11.
Treaty of Paris (1951)
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The treaty came into force on 23 July 1952 and expired on 23 July 2002, exactly fifty years after it came into effect. The treaty was seen as producing diplomatic and economic stability in western Europe after the Second World War, some of the main enemies during the war were now sharing production of coal and steel, the key-resources which previously had been central to the war effort. The Europe Declaration was signed by all the leaders present and it declared that the Treaty had given birth to Europe. It emphasised that the principle was the foundation of the new democratic organisation of Europe. The supranational concept was opposed by Charles de Gaulle, Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community on CVCE. eu The history of the European Union 1945-1957
12.
Treaty of Rome
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It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany and came into force on 1 January 1958. It remains one of the two most important treaties in the modern-day European Union, the TEEC proposed the progressive reduction of customs duties and the establishment of a customs union. It proposed to create a market for goods, labour, services. It also proposed the creation of a Common Agriculture Policy, a Common Transport Policy and a European Social Fund, the treatys name has been retrospectively amended on several occasions since 1957. The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 removed the word economic from the Treaty of Romes official title and, in 2009, in 1951, the Treaty of Paris was signed, creating the European Coal and Steel Community. The Treaty of Paris was a treaty based on international law, designed to help reconstruct the economies of the European continent, prevent war in Europe. The original idea was conceived by Jean Monnet, a senior French civil servant and it was announced by Robert Schuman, the aim was to pool Franco-West German coal and steel production, because the two raw materials were the basis of the industry and power of the two countries. The underlying political objective of the European Coal and Steel Community was to strengthen Franco-German cooperation, France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands began negotiating the treaty. The Treaty Establishing the ECSC was signed in Paris on 18 April 1951, the Treaty expired on 23 July 2002, after fifty years, as was foreseen. The common market opened on 10 February 1953 for coal, iron ore and scrap, partly in the aim of creating a United States of Europe, two further Communities were proposed, again by the French. A European Defence Community and a European Political Community, while the treaty for the latter was being drawn up by the Common Assembly, the ECSC parliamentary chamber, the EDC was rejected by the French Parliament. As a result of the crises, the Common Assembly proposed extending the powers of the ECSC to cover other sources of energy. However, Monnet desired a separate Community to cover nuclear power, the report concluded that further nuclear development was needed, in order to fill the deficit left by the exhaustion of coal deposits and to reduce dependence on oil producers. In the end, Monnet proposed creating both as separate Communities to attempt to satisfy all interests, the report formed the cornerstone of the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom at Val Duchesse in 1956. The outcome of the conference was that the new Communities would share the Common Assembly with the ECSC, however, they would not share the ECSCs Council of High Authority. The two new High Authorities would be called Commissions, from a reduction in their powers, Euratom fostered co-operation in the nuclear field, at the time a very popular area, and the European Economic Community was to create a full customs union between members. The conference led to the signature, on 25 March 1957, of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, the Treaty of Rome, the original full name of which was the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community has been amended by successive treaties significantly changing its content. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht established the European Union, the EEC becoming one of its three pillars, the European Community, hence, the treaty was renamed the Treaty establishing the European Community
13.
Single European Act
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The Single European Act was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. It was signed at Luxembourg on 17 February 1986, and at The Hague on 28 February 1986 and it came into effect on 1 July 1987, under the Delors Commission. The SEAs signing grew from the discontent among European Community members in the 1980s about the de facto lack of trade among them. Leaders from business and politics wanted to harmonise laws among countries, the Treaty was drafted with the aim of implementing parts of the Dooge report on institutional reform of the Community and the European Commissions white paper on reforming the Common Market. A core element of the SEA was to create a Single Market within the European Community by 1992, to make the objectives possible, the SEA reformed the legislative process both by introducing the cooperation procedure and by extending Qualified Majority Voting to new areas. Measures were also taken to shorten the legislative process, the SEA intended to remove barriers and to increase harmonisation and competitiveness among its countries. A political agreement was reached at the European Council held in Luxembourg on 3 December 1985 when foreign ministers finalised the text, Denmark and Italy raised concerns over constitutional validity. That date has been intended as display of unity within the Community regarding the SEA. The Danish parliament rejected the Single Act in January 1986 after a motion calling for the then unsigned document to be renegotiated was passed by 80 votes to 75. The Danish opposition opposed the treaty because they said it would increase the powers of the European Parliament, the Danish government, who supported the treaty, decided to hold a national, non-binding referendum on the issue in order to overcome the treatys rejection by the Danish parliament. This referendum was held on 27 February 1986 and approved by the Danish people by 56. 2% voting in favour to 43. 8% against on a turnout of 75. 4%. Italian government delayed in signing for the concern, that, in their opinion. Together with Greece who had delayed in signing, Denmark. The deadline failed to be achieved when the Irish government were restrained from ratifying the SEA pending court proceedings. In the court case, the Irish Supreme Court ruled that the Irish Constitution would have to be amended before the state could ratify the treaty, something that can only be done by referendum. Such a referendum was held on 26 May 1987 when the proposal was approved by Irish voters by 69. 9% in favour to 30. 1% against on a turnout of 44. 1%. Ireland formally ratified the Single European Act in June 1987, allowing the treaty to come into force on 1 July, Danish Single European Act referendum,1986 Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland Crotty v
14.
Maastricht Treaty
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The Maastricht Treaty undertaken to integrate Europe was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty. The Maastricht Treaty and all pre-existing treaties, has subsequently been amended by the treaties of Amsterdam, Nice. The treaty led to the creation of the euro, one of the obligations of the treaty for the members was to keep sound fiscal policies, with debt limited to 60% of GDP and annual deficits no greater than 3% of GDP. The treaty also created what was referred to as the pillar structure of the European Union. The first pillar was where the EUs supra-national institutions—the Commission, the European Parliament, the other two pillars were essentially more intergovernmental in nature with decisions being made by committees composed of member states politicians and officials. All three pillars were the extensions of existing policy structures, the European Community pillar was the continuation of the European Economic Community with the Economic being dropped from the name to represent the wider policy base given by the Maastricht Treaty. In addition, the treaty established the European Committee of the Regions, coR is the European Unions assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities with a direct voice within the EUs institutional framework. The Maastricht criteria are the criteria for European Union member states to enter the stage of European Economic and Monetary Union. The four criteria are defined in article 121 of the treaty establishing the European Community and they impose control over inflation, public debt and the public deficit, exchange rate stability and the convergence of interest rates. Inflation rates, No more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the average of the three best performing member states of the EU.2. Government finance, Annual government deficit, The ratio of the government deficit to gross domestic product must not exceed 3% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. If not, it is at least required to reach a level close to 3%, only exceptional and temporary excesses would be granted for exceptional cases. Government debt, The ratio of government debt to GDP must not exceed 60% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. Even if the target cannot be achieved due to the specific conditions, as of the end of 2014, of the countries in the Eurozone, only Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Luxembourg, and Finland still met this target. Long-term interest rates, The nominal long-term interest rate must not be more than 2 percentage points higher than in the three lowest inflation member states, the purpose of setting the criteria is to maintain price stability within the Eurozone even with the inclusion of new member states. The signing of the Treaty of Maastricht took place in Maastricht, Netherlands, representatives from the twelve member states of the European Communities were present, and signed the treaty as plenipotentiaries, marking the conclusion of the period of negotiations. The process of ratifying the treaty was fraught with difficulties in three states, in Denmark, the first Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum was held on 2 June 1992 and ratification of the treaty was rejected by a margin of 50. 7% to 49. 3%
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Amsterdam Treaty
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Following the formal signing of the Treaty on 2 October 1997, the Member States engaged in an equally long and complex ratification process. The European Parliament endorsed the treaty on 19 November 1997, the treaty of Amsterdam comprises 13 Protocols,51 Declarations adopted by the Conference, and 8 Declarations by Member States, plus amendments to the existing Treaties set out in 15 Articles. Article 1 amends the provisions of the Treaty on European Union and covers the CFSP and cooperation in criminal. The next four Articles amend the EC Treaty, the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty, the Euratom Treaty, the final provisions contain four Articles. The new Treaty also set out to simplify the Community Treaties, deleting more than 56 obsolete articles, by way of example, Article 189b on the codecision procedure became Article 251. The most pressing concerns of ordinary Europeans, such as their legal and personal security, immigration, in particular, the EU became responsible for legislating on immigration, civil law or civil procedure, insofar as this is necessary for the free movement of persons within the EU. At the same time, intergovernmental co-operation was intensified in the police, the Union aims to establish an area of freedom, security and justice for its citizens. The Schengen Agreements have now incorporated into the legal system of the EU. The European Council will lay down common strategies, which then be put into effect by the Council acting by a qualified majority. In other cases, some Member States may choose to abstain constructively and these provisions make the Commission more politically accountable, particularly vis-à-vis the European Parliament. Finally, the new Treaty enables, under strict conditions. The Amsterdam Treaty did not settle all institutional questions, work was still in progress on reforming the institutions to make them capable of operating effectively and democratically in a much enlarged EU. The most pressing issues were the composition of the Commission and the weighting of Member States votes upon qualified majority voting and these questions were addressed in the Treaty of Lisbon
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Treaty of Nice
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The Treaty of Nice was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003. It amended the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Rome, the entry into force of the treaty was in doubt for a time, after its initial rejection by Irish voters in a referendum in June 2001. This referendum result was reversed in a subsequent referendum held a little over a year later, the Nice Treaty was attacked by many people as a flawed compromise. This was also rejected by France for similar reasons, the Treaty provided for an increase after enlargement of the number of seats in the European Parliament to 732, which exceeded the cap established by the Treaty of Amsterdam. As a transitional measure it specified that after 1 January 2005, Germany, France, the Treaty provided for the creation of subsidiary courts below the European Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance to deal with special areas of law such as patents. The Treaty of Nice provides for new rules on closer co-operation, the rules introduced in the Treaty of Amsterdam being viewed as unworkable, the Treaty also contained provisions to deal with the financial consequences of the expiry of the European Coal and Steel Community treaty. Under the current rules for the amendment of the Treaties, the Treaties can only be amended by a new Treaty, which must be ratified by each of the Member States to enter into force. In all the EU member states the Treaty of Nice was ratified by parliamentary procedure, except in Ireland where, an Taoiseach, any amendments that result in a transfer of sovereignty to the European Union require a constitutional amendment. Irelands Constitution can only be amended by a referendum, to the surprise of the Irish government and the other EU member states, Irish voters rejected the Treaty of Nice in June 2001. However, many Irish voters were critical of the Treaty contents, others questioned the impact of the Treaty on Irish neutrality. The result was a 60% Yes vote on a near-50% turn-out, by then all other EU member states had ratified the Treaty. Ratification by all parties was required by the end of the year and they claim that, consequently, the treaty was vitally important for the integration and future progress of these former Eastern Bloc countries. Many people who were in favour of greater scope and power of the EU project felt that it did not go far enough and they also claimed that the Treaty of Nice would create a two-tier EU, which might marginalise Ireland. Opponents pointed out that leading pro-treaty politicians had admitted that if referendums had been held in other than Ireland. However, in the end this did not come to pass, the German regions were also demanding a clearer separation of the powers of the Union from the Member States
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Treaty of Lisbon
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The Treaty of Lisbon is an international agreement which amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union. The Treaty of Lisbon was signed by the EU member states on 13 December 2007 and it also amends the attached treaty protocols as well as the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community. The Treaty also made the Unions bill of rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Treaty for the first time gave member states the explicit legal right to leave the EU and the procedure to do so. Supporters argue that it brings more checks and balances into the EU system, with powers for the European Parliament. Although ratified by a majority of states, this was abandoned after being rejected by 54. 67% of French voters on 29 May 2005. After a period of reflection, member states agreed instead to maintain the existing treaties, an amending reform treaty was drawn up and signed in Lisbon in 2007. It was originally intended to have been ratified by all states by the end of 2008. The need to review the EUs constitutional framework, particularly in light of the accession of ten new Member States in 2004, was highlighted in a declaration annexed to the Treaty of Nice in 2001. The agreements at Nice had paved the way for further enlargement of the Union by reforming voting procedures, the final text of the proposed Constitution was agreed upon at the summit meeting on 18–19 June 2004 under the presidency of Ireland. The Constitution, having been agreed by heads of government from the 25 Member States, was signed at a ceremony in Rome on 29 October 2004, before it could enter into force, however, it had to be ratified by each member state. Ratification took different forms in each country, depending on the traditions, constitutional arrangements, in 2005, referendums held in France and the Netherlands rejected the European Constitution. This led to a period of reflection and the end of the proposed European Constitution. In 2007, Germany took over the rotating EU Presidency and declared the period of reflection over, by March, the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, the Berlin Declaration was adopted by all Member States. This declaration outlined the intention of all Member States to agree on a new treaty in time for the 2009 Parliamentary elections, that is to have a ratified treaty before mid-2009. On 4 June 2007, the released their text in French – cut from 63,000 words in 448 articles in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe to 12,800 words in 70 articles. The meeting took place under the German Presidency of the EU, after dealing with other issues, such as deciding on the accession of Cyprus and Malta to the Eurozone, negotiations on the Treaty took over and lasted until the morning of 23 June 2007. The hardest part of the negotiations was reported to be Polands insistence on square root voting in the Council of Ministers, but the implementation of the Agenda was less impressive than the declarations made at its adoption by the European Council in March 2000. In addition, it was agreed to recommend to the IGC that the provisions of the old European Constitution should be amended in certain key aspects
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European Commission
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Commissioners swear an oath at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, pledging to respect the treaties and to be completely independent in carrying out their duties during their mandate. The Commission operates as a government, with 28 members of the Commission. There is one member per state, but members are bound by their oath of office to represent the general interest of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. One of the 28 is the Commission President proposed by the European Council, the current Commission is the Juncker Commission, which took office in late 2014. The procedural languages of the Commission are English, French and German, the Members of the Commission and their cabinets are based in the Berlaymont building in Brussels. The first Commission originated in 1951 as the nine-member High Authority under President Jean Monnet, the High Authority was the supranational administrative executive of the new European Coal and Steel Community. It took office first on 10 August 1952 in Luxembourg, in 1958 the Treaties of Rome had established two new communities alongside the ECSC, the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. However their executives were called Commissions rather than High Authorities, the reason for the change in name was the new relationship between the executives and the Council. Some states such as France expressed reservations over the power of the High Authority, louis Armand led the first Commission of Euratom. Walter Hallstein led the first Commission of the EEC, holding the first formal meeting on 16 January 1958 at the Château of Val-Duchesse, Hallstein notably began the consolidation of European law and started to have a notable impact on national legislation. The three bodies, collectively named the European Executives, co-existed until 1 July 1967 when, under the Merger Treaty, the Rey Commission completed the Communitys customs union in 1968 and campaigned for a more powerful, elected, European Parliament. Despite Rey being the first President of the communities, Hallstein is seen as the first President of the modern Commission. The Malfatti and Mansholt Commissions followed with work on monetary co-operation, with that enlargement the Commissions membership increased to thirteen under the Ortoli Commission, which dealt with the enlarged community during economic and international instability at that time. Following the Jenkins Commission, Gaston Thorns Commission oversaw the Communitys enlargement to the south, the Commission headed by Jacques Delors was seen as giving the Community a sense of direction and dynamism. Delors and his team are considered as the founding fathers of the euro. The International Herald Tribune noted the work of Delors at the end of his term in 1992. He arrived when Europessimism was at its worst, although he was a little-known former French finance minister, he breathed life and hope into the EC and into the dispirited Brussels Commission. The successor to Delors was Jacques Santer, the entire Santer Commission was forced to resign in 1999 by the Parliament as result of a fraud and corruption scandal, with a central role played by Édith Cresson
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Hallstein Commission
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The Hallstein Commission is the European Commission that held office from 7 January 1958 to 30 June 1967. Its President was Walter Hallstein and held two separate mandates and it was the first Commission on the European Economic Community and held its first formal meeting on 16 January 1958 at the Château of Val-Duchesse. It was succeeded by the Rey Commission and it served two terms and had 9 members. It began work on the European single market and the Common Agricultural Policy, the Commission enjoyed a number of successes, such as the cereal prices accord which it managed to achieve in the wake of de Gaulles veto of Britains membership. De Gaulle was an opponent to the Commission, and proposals such as the cereal prices accord were designed to bind France closer to the EEC to make it harder to break it up. Its work gained it esteem and prestige not only from the member states, in 1965 president Hallstein put forward the Commissions proposals for financing the Common Agricultural Policy. The proposals would have allowed the Community to develop its own resources, independently of the states. Furthermore, though, it applied the majority voting into the Council, Hallstein knew of the risky nature of the proposals and was unusually active in drafting them. The tone of internal deliberations at the time show the institution was aware of what they would cause. However, they were seen as vital for the Commissions long-term goals. The legislation would not only the Commissions powers, but also the Parliaments in an attempt to build a supranational structure. Because of this president Hallstein won support from the Parliament who had long been campaigning for more powers, indeed, Hallstein played to the Parliament by presenting his policy to the Parliament on 24 March, a week before he presented them to the Council. However, in this it proved that, despite its past successes, when Hallstein put forward his proposals, the Council was already troubled. Then-French President, Charles de Gaulle, was sceptical of the supranational power of the Commission. This, and similar differences between France and the Commission, were exacerbated when France took on the Presidency, thereby losing the normal system of mediation. Furthermore, the Commission became marginalised as the debate became one between France and the members, making the Council the centre of debate. Thus any chance of using the expertise of the Commission to come up with proposals was lost, finally on 30 June 1965 Paris recalled its representative in Brussels stating it would not take its seat in the Council until it had its way. This empty chair crisis was the first time that the operation of the EEC had failed because of a member state, Paris continued its policy for six months until the impact upon its economy forced it back into negotiations
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Rey Commission
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The Rey Commission is the European Commission that held office from 2 July 1967 to 30 June 1970. It was the first Commission of the merged European Communities and it was the successor to the Hallstein Commission and was succeeded by the Malfatti Commission. The Commission worked to reinforce the Communitys institutions and increase the powers of the European Parliament and it also campaigned for an elected Parliament, which was achieved later in 1979. It oversaw the competition of the union in 1968. Finally, in 1970, the last year of this mandate, the commission was composed of 14 members,3 from Italy, West Germany, and France,2 from Belgium and the Netherlands and 1 from Luxembourg
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Malfatti Commission
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The Malfatti Commission is the European Commission that held office from 1 July 1970 to 21 March 1972. Its president was Franco Maria Malfatti and it was the successor to the Rey Commission and was succeeded by the Mansholt Commission. The Malfatti Commission began as the process was relaunched, the EC adopting a financial framework. There was also the beginnings of cooperation, monetary cooperation and of enlargement as talks opened with Denmark, Ireland, Norway
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Mansholt Commission
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The Mansholt Commission is the European Commission that held office from 22 March 1972 to 5 January 1973. It was the successor to the Malfatti Commission and was succeeded by the Ortoli Commission and it oversaw the creation of the European Monetary System on 24 April 1972 and the first enlargement on 1 January 1973. The colour of the row indicates the approximate political leaning of the holder using the following scheme
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Ortoli Commission
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The Ortoli Commission is the European Commission that held office from 6 January 1973 to 5 January 1977. It was the successor to the Mansholt Commission and was succeeded by the Jenkins Commission and it was the first Commission since the first enlargement at the start of the year. It managed the extended Community during the instability of the Yom Kippur war, the 1973 oil crisis and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus
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Thorn Commission
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The Thorn Commission was the European Commission that held office from 6 January 1981 until 5 January 1985. It was the successor to the Jenkins Commission and was succeeded by the Delors Commission, with a current economic crisis, it had to speed up enlargement to Greece, Spain and Portugal while making steps towards the Single European Act in 1985. However, with a period of eurosclerosis, due to problems and British vetoing over the Community budget. The colour of the row indicates the approximate political leaning of the holder using the following scheme
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Delors Commission
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The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the eighth President of the European Commission. Delors presided over the European Commission for three terms and it was the only Commission to serve three times, and Delors served five two-year terms. The third Commission was the first Commission of the European Union, Delors entered office when eurosclerosis was at its height. The slow pace of enlargement, lack of democracy and economic problems caused that negative, thus, Delors set Lord Cockfield, his Internal Market Commissioner, in drafting the legislation. Now, Cockfields work is seen as highly precise and his knowledge of the system legendary, the Delors Commission gave a new momentum to the process of European integration. They completed the internal market and laid the foundations for the single European currency, European Economic and Monetary Union was based on the three stage plan drawn up by a committee headed by Delors. Delors and his Commissioners are considered the fathers of the euro. The groundwork and political persuasion was achieved through the work of the Commissioners leading to the signature of the Single European Act in February 1986 and it was created in 1994 and the building the body occupies was named after Delors in 2006. Delors Commission oversaw a degree of expansion. The membership of Spain and Portugal came first in 1985, then the fall of the Berlin Wall enabled the Reunification of Germany, the Delors Commission also prepared the opening to the eastern countries who later joined in 2004. In 1988 Delors addressed the British Trade Union Congress, his speech about a social Europe was pivotal in turning British Labour pro-European, the Commission was the longest serving executive to date and oversaw many events in the history of the Union. Gravier ruling by the ECJ on non-discrimination by nationality,1986, Spain and Portugal join the Communities. The Single European Act is signed, marshall ruling by the ECJ on non-discrimination by gender. The European flag is adopted by the Communities, it is raised outside the Berlaymont,1987,30 years since the Treaties of Rome. Single European Act enters into force,1988, Delors asked to draw up a report on Economic and Monetary Union. The Court of First Instance is established,1989, Cowan ruling by the ECJ on non-discrimination by nationality. Declaration of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms adopted by the Parliament, third direct elections to Parliament held. Spain and Portugal join the European Monetary System, Berlin Wall falls, leading to agreements and accession of eastern countries
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Santer Commission
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The Santer Commission was the European Commission in office between 23 January 1995 and 15 March 1999. The administration was led by Jacques Santer, the body had 20 members and oversaw the introduction of the euro. It was cut short when the Commission became the first to resign en masse due to allegations of corruption, some members continued under Manuel Marín until the Prodi Commission was appointed. In 1994 Jacques Delors was due to step down from a successful tenure as President of the European Commission, however his federalist style was not to the liking of many national governments. Hence when the proposal of Jean-Luc Dehaene was presented, he was vetoed by the UK on the grounds he was too federalist, Jacques Santer, then-Prime Minister of Luxembourg, was seen as less federalist as his presidency had earlier proposed the pillar structure. Hence he was nominated and approved by the European Council on 15 July 1994, hence he was seen as being the second choice which weakened his position, with the European Parliament approving him only by a narrow majority. Santer himself admitted that he was not the first choice – and he did however flex his powers over the nominations for the other Commissioners. The President gained this power under the Maastricht Treaty that came into force the previous year, on 18 January 1995 he managed to get his Commission approved by Parliament by 416 votes to 103 and they were appointed by the Council on 23 January. The Santer Commission oversaw the development of the Treaty of Nice before it was signed in 2000, negotiations with countries to join in 2004. Notably it contributed to the development of the euro and issued a series of papers based on Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguys work. The Commission also developed the euro currency symbol, the euro was established on 1999-01-01. The Commission also continued Delors social agenda, pushed for more powers in that field including tackling unemployment, Santer, desiring a quotable slogan for his administration, stated his Commissions aim would be to do less, but do it better. However, during 1998 the Commission began to lose authority due to management criticisms from the Parliament, the communitys budget for each year needs to be discharged by the Parliament following its report by the European Court of Auditors. It had only refused to do so once previously, in 1984, paul van Buitenen, a whistle-blower working in the Commission, had sent the Parliament a report alleging that widespread fraud and cover ups, stating, I found strong indications that. Auditors have been hindered in their investigations and that received instructions to obstruct the audit examinations. In response, the Commission suspended him on half pay for releasing details of an inquiry, however it eventually supported the discharge 14 to 13 on 11 December, recommending that the plenary support the discharge. It was taken to plenary for debate four days however the assigned rapporteur publicly went against the Committees official position. President Santer announced that the Commission would treat the vote of discharge as one of confidence, in a vote on 17 December 1998, the Parliament denied the discharge
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Prodi Commission
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The Prodi Commission was the European Commission in office between 1999 and 2004. The administration was led by former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, the commission took office on 13 September 1999 following the scandal and subsequent resignation of the Santer Commission which had damaged the reputation of the institution. It took over from the interim Marín Commission, the College consisted of 20 Commissioners which grew to 30 following the Enlargement of the European Union in 2004. It was the last commission to see two members allocated to the member states. This commission saw in increase in power and influence following Amsterdam Treaty, some in the media described president Prodi as being the first Prime Minister of the European Union. From 1999 Prodi saw in the euro and by 2002 it came into cash form, the body was however criticised for being lacklustre, with poor communication and failing to make an impact despite major events such as enlargement and the euro. When the Commission took office in 1999, there were 20 Commissioners, one from each member state,2004 saw 15 new Commissioners,5 replacing existing Commissioners who had resigned before the end of their mandate and 10 from the new member states who joined in that year. Most of these Commissioners continued to serve in the following Barroso Commission, the members from the new states shared a portfolio with an existing member, rather than creating new posts or having Commissioners without a portfolio. The colours reflect those used in the table of Commissioners below, bolkestein Directive Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe President Prodis Website Prodi Commission profiles, portfolios and homepages
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Barroso Commission
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The Barroso Commission was the European Commission in office from 22 November 2004 until 31 October 2014. Its president was José Manuel Barroso, who presided over 27 other commissioners, on 16 September 2009 Barroso was re-elected by the European Parliament for a further five years and his Commission was approved to take office on 9 February 2010. In 2007 the Commission gained two new members when Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union, Barrosos handling of his office was markedly more Presidential than his predecessors. During his term the Commission passed major legislation including the REACH, under Barroso, the civil service in the Commission became more economically liberal. Barroso was nominated as president and approved by Parliament in July 2004, the opposition plunged the EU into a minor crisis before Barroso conceded to the Parliament and reshuffled his team, removing Buttiglione, and his Commission took office on 22 November 2004. The Commission was joined in 2007 by two further Commissioners when Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU, there was strong backing for Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from Ireland, France and Germany who saw him as a convinced European and also a fighter. However the federalist was opposed by Spain the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland due to his opposition to the Iraq War. Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was also a candidate but did not wish to take up the job. Other candidates were High Representative Javier Solana and President of the Parliament Pat Cox however both were light candidates, however Barroso emerged as a leading candidate despite his support for the Iraq War and being seen as the lowest common denominator following objections to other candidates. The Parliament approved Barroso as president on 22 July 2004 by 413 votes to 215 with most of his coming from the EPP-ED group. He did however earn praise for his choice of commissioners. His sharing out of jobs between the larger and smaller states equally earned him some early praise, candidates were proposed by national governments for each of the Commissioners and Parliament held hearings for them, to determine their suitability, between 27 September and 11 October of that year. During the hearings, members found fault in a number of Commissioners, committees questioned the suitability of Ingrida Udre, László Kovács, Neelie Kroes and Mariann Fischer-Boel. The EPP demanded that if Buttiglione were to go, then a PES commissioner must also be sacrificed for balance, Barroso eventually gave in and withdrew his proposed college of Commissioners and, following three weeks which left Prodi continuing as a caretaker, proposed a new line up. However a further issue concerning Jacques Barrot was raised by Independence/Democracy co-leader Nigel Farage MEP and he subsequently received a Presidential amnesty from then-French President Jacques Chirac and Barroso was unaware of the conviction until it was raised by Parliament. Despite this, Barroso stood by Barrot stating he was fit for office, Farage had also made allegations against vice-president Siim Kallas, stating he had a criminal record in fraud. However this proved false, based on a newspaper article. Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU on 1 January 2007 with each being granted a single Commissioner, both new Commissioners were approved by the Parliament on 12 December 2006
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Juncker Commission
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The Juncker Commission is the European Commission in office since 1 November 2014 and is due to serve until 2019. Its president is Jean-Claude Juncker, who presides over 27 other commissioners, in July 2014, Juncker was officially elected to succeed José Manuel Barroso, who had been re-elected by the European Parliament for a second five-year term in 2009. In the 2014 parliamentary election, Juncker campaigned as the candidate of the European Peoples Party for the presidency of the European Commission, the EPP won a plurality in parliament, and on 27 June, the European Council nominated him for the post. Later, on 15 July 2014, the European Parliament elected Juncker as the new Commission president, on 1 November 2014 the new Commission officially assumed office. Juncker has outlined a ten-point agenda for his Presidency focusing on jobs and these clusters are known as Project Teams and will each be headed by one of the vice presidents. Each team is composed of a membership in addition to members who may fall under its respective umbrella as needed. First Vice President, Frans Timmermans Federica Mogherini Dimitris Avramopoulos Johannes Hahn Neven Mimica Christos Stylianides Věra Jourová Julian King Political guidelines Priorities
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History of Europe
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The history of Europe covers the peoples inhabiting Europe from prehistory to the present. Some of the civilizations of prehistoric Europe were the Minoan and the Mycenaean. The period known as classical antiquity began with the emergence of the city-states of Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire came to dominate the entire Mediterranean basin. By 300 AD the Roman Empire was divided into the Western and Eastern empires, during the 4th and 5th centuries, the Germanic peoples of Northern Europe grew in strength, and repeated attacks led to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire. AD476 traditionally marks the end of the period and the start of the Middle Ages. In Western Europe, Germanic peoples became more powerful in the remnants of the former Western Roman Empire and established kingdoms and empires of their own. Of all of the Germanic peoples, the Franks would rise to a position of hegemony over Western Europe, the British Isles were the site of several large-scale migrations. The Viking Age, a period of migrations of Scandinavian peoples, the Normans, a Viking people who settled in Northern France, had a significant impact on many parts of Europe, from the Norman conquest of England to Southern Italy and Sicily. The Rus people founded Kievan Rus, which evolved into Russia, after 1000 the Crusades were a series of religiously motivated military expeditions originally intended to bring the Levant back under Christian rule. The Crusaders opened trade routes which enabled the merchant republics of Genoa, the Reconquista, a related movement, worked to reconquer Iberia for Christendom. Eastern Europe in the High Middle Ages was dominated by the rise, led by Genghis Khan, the Mongols were a group of steppe nomads who established a decentralized empire which, at its height, extended from China in the east to the Black and Baltic Seas in Europe. The Late Middle Ages represented a period of upheaval in Europe, the epidemic known as the Black Death and an associated famine caused demographic catastrophe in Europe as the population plummeted. Dynastic struggles and wars of conquest kept many of the states of Europe at war for much of the period, in Scandinavia, the Kalmar Union dominated the political landscape, while England fought with Scotland in the Wars of Scottish Independence and with France in the Hundred Years War. Russia continued to expand southward and eastward into former Mongol lands, in the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire overran Byzantine lands, culminating in the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, which historians mark as the end of the Middle Ages. Beginning in the 14th century in Florence and later spreading through Europe, the rediscovery of classical Greek and Roman knowledge had an enormous liberating effect on intellectuals. Simultaneously, the Protestant Reformation under German Martin Luther questioned Papal authority, henry VIII seized control of the English Church and its lands. The European religious wars between German and Spanish rulers, the Reconquista ended Muslim rule in Iberia. By the 1490s a series of oceanic explorations marked the Age of Discovery, establishing links with Africa, the Americas
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History of the euro
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The euro came into existence on 1 January 1999, although it had been a goal of the European Union and its predecessors since the 1960s. In 1999 the currency was born virtually and in 2002 notes and it rapidly took over from the former national currencies and slowly expanded behind the rest of the EU. In 2009 the Lisbon Treaty finalised its political authority, the Eurogroup, first ideas of an economic and monetary union in Europe were raised well before establishing the European Communities. This was followed up at a meeting of the European Council at The Hague in December 1969, the European Council tasked Pierre Werner, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, with finding a way to reduce currency exchange rate volatility. But he did not propose a single currency or central bank, an attempt to limit the fluctuations of European currencies, using a snake in the tunnel, failed. In 1971, US President Richard Nixon removed the gold backing from the US dollar, the widespread currency floats and devaluations set back aspirations for European monetary union. However, in March 1979 the European Monetary System was created, fixing exchange rates onto the European Currency Unit and it also created the European Monetary Cooperation Fund. In February 1986 the Single European Act formalised political co-operation within the Community including competency in monetary policy, European Council summit in Hannover on 14 June 1988 began to outline monetary co-operation. France, Italy and European Commission backed a fully monetary union with a central bank and this way of working was derived from the Spaak method. France and the UK were opposed to German reunification, and attempted to influence the Soviet Union to stop it, however, in late 1989 France extracted German commitment to the Monetary Union in return for support for German reunification. It laid out monetary union being accomplished in three steps, beginning the first of these steps, on 1 July 1990, exchange controls were abolished, thus capital movements were completely liberalised in the European Economic Community. Leaders reached agreement on currency union with the Maastricht Treaty, signed on 7 February 1992 and it agreed to create a single currency, although without the participation of the United Kingdom, by January 1999. Gaining approval for the treaty was a challenge, Germany was cautious about giving up its stable currency, i. e. On 16 September 1992, known in the UK as Black Wednesday, delors second stage began in 1994 with creation of the European Monetary Institute, succeeding the EMCF, under Maastricht. It was created as the forerunner to the European Central Bank and it met for the first time on 12 January under its first president, Alexandre Lamfalussy. After much disagreement, in December 1995 the name euro was adopted for the new currency and they also agreed on the date 1 January 1999 for its launch. Then, on 3 May 1998, at the European Council in Brussels, Greece failed to meet the criteria and was excluded from participating on 1 January 1999. On 1 June 1998 the European Central Bank succeeded the European Monetary Institute, however it wouldnt take on its full powers until the euro was created on 1 January 1999
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Enlargement of the European Union
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Since then, the EUs membership has grown to twenty-eight, with the latest member state being Croatia, which joined in July 2013. The most recent territorial enlargement of the EU was the incorporation of Mayotte in 2014, the most notable territorial reductions of the EU, and its predecessors, were the exit of Algeria upon independence in 1962 and the exit of Greenland in 1985. On 23 June 2016, a referendum on whether the UK should remain in or leave the European Union was held. The formal withdrawal will not take place until negotiations on the terms of their withdrawal are finalized, currently, accession negotiations are under way with several states. The process of enlargement is referred to as European integration. This term is used to refer to the intensification of co-operation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual harmonisation of national laws. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current member state and the European Parliament must agree to any enlargement. According to the EU treaties, membership of the European Union is open to any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to promoting them. Those Article 2 values are respect for dignity, freedom, democracy, equality. Today the accession process follows a series of steps, from a pre-accession agreement to the ratification of the final accession treaty. These steps are primarily presided over by the European Commission, before a country applies for membership it typically signs an association agreement to help prepare the country for candidacy and eventual membership. Most countries do not meet the criteria to even begin negotiations before they apply, an association agreement helps prepare for this first step. In the case of the Western Balkans, a special process, when a country formally applies for membership, the Council asks the Commission to prepare an opinion on the countrys readiness to begin negotiations. The Council can then accept or reject the Commissions opinion. If the Council agrees to open negotiations the screening process then begins, the Commission and candidate country examine its laws and those of the EU and determine what differences exist. The Council then recommends opening negotiations on chapters of law that it there is sufficient common ground to have constructive negotiations. Often this will involve time-lines before the Acquis Communautaire has to be fully implemented, to assess progress achieved by countries in preparing for accession to the European Union, the European Commission submits regular reports to the European Council. These serve as a basis for the Council to make decisions on negotiations or their extension to other candidates, once this has been completed it will join the Union on the date specified in the treaty
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European Union
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The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
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EU three
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EU3 +3, more commonly referred to as the E3+3, refers to a grouping which includes the EU-3 and China, Russia, and the United States. It was coined when these states joined the EU diplomatic efforts with Iran in 2006, in the United States and Russia, it is more commonly known as P5+1, which refers to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. Following the 2004 enlargement of the European Union, the EU-3 group had an influence in the European Union other than in negotiations with Iran. EU-15 G4 Visegrád Group Inner Six Iran–European Union relations European balance of power EU calls for UN action over Iran, Iran, Options for a face-saving solution
35.
Robert Schuman
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Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat and an independent political thinker and activist, the 1964–1965 academic year at the College of Europe was named in his honour. Schuman was born in June 1886, in Clausen, Luxembourg, Schumans secondary schooling from 1896 to 1903 was at Athénée de Luxembourg, followed in 1904 by the Lycée impérial in Metz. In 1912 Schuman set up practice as a lawyer in Metz, when war broke out in 1914 he was called up for the auxiliary troops by the German army in Metz but excused from military service on health grounds. From 1915 to 1918 he served in the administration of the Boulay district, after the First World War, Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France and Schuman became a French citizen in 1919. Schuman became active in French politics, in 1919 he was first elected as député to parliament on a regional list, and later serving as the député for Thionville until 1958 with an interval during the war years. This harmonization of the law with the French law was called Lex Schuman. In 1940, because of his expertise on Germany, Schuman was called to become a member of Paul Reynauds wartime government and he kept that charge during the first Pétain government. On July 10, he voted to give power to Hitlers ally Marshal Pétain. Later that year, on September 14, he was arrested for acts of resistance and he was interrogated by the Gestapo but thanks to the intervention of a German lawyer, he was saved from being sent to Dachau. Transferred as a prisoner of Gauleiter Joseph Buerckel, he escaped in 1942. He addressed large conferences in the Free Zone explaining why the defeat of Germany was inevitable and this was at a time when Nazi Germany was at the peak of its power. The Germans then invaded the Free Zone, although his life was still at risk, he spoke to friends about a Franco-German and European reconciliation that must take place after the end of hostilities, as he had already done in 1939–40. After the war, Schuman rose to great prominence and he initially had difficulties because of his 1940 vote and his tenure as Pétains minister. The Defense minister Andre Diethelm stated that this Vichy product should be kicked out. As all those who had voted for Pétain, he was ineligible and he was stricken with Indignité nationale. On July 24,1945, Schuman wrote to General de Gaulle to ask him to intervene, de Gaulle answered favorably, and on September 15, Schuman regained his full civic rights, becoming able to again play an active role in French politics. He was Minister of Finance, then Prime Minister from 1947–1948, assuring parliamentary stability during a period of revolutionary strikes, in the last days of his first administration, his government proposed plans that later resulted in the Council of Europe and the European Community single market
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Alcide De Gasperi
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Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi was an Italian statesman and politician who founded the Christian Democracy party. From 1945 to 1953 he was the minister of eight successive coalition governments. His eight-year term in office remains a landmark of political longevity for a leader in modern Italian politics, De Gasperi is the fourth longest-serving Prime Minister since the Italian Unification. De Gasperi was born in Pieve Tesino in Tyrol, which at that time belonged to Austria-Hungary and his father was a local police officer of limited financial means. From 1896 De Gasperi was active in the Social Christian movement, in 1900 he joined the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy in Vienna, where he played an important role in the inception of the Christian student movement. He was very inspired by the Rerum novarum encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891. In 1904 he took a part in student demonstrations in favour of an Italian-language university. Imprisoned with other protesters during the inauguration of the Italian juridical faculty in Innsbruck, in 1905, De Gasperi obtained a degree in philology. In 1905 he began to work as editor of the newspaper La Voce Cattolica which was replaced in September 1906 by Il Trentino, in 1911 he became a Member of Parliament for the Popular Political Union of Trentino in the Austrian Reichsrat, a post he held for 6 years. He was politically neutral during World War I, which he spent in Vienna, however, he sympathised with the ultimately unsuccessful efforts of Pope Benedict XV and Bl. Karl I of Austria to obtain a peace and stop the war. When his home region was transferred to Italy in the post-war settlement and he however never tried to hide his love for Austria and German culture and often preferred speaking German to his family, many of whom spoke German as their first language. In 1919 he was among of the founders of the Italian Peoples Party and he served as a deputy in the Italian Parliament from 1921 to 1924, a period marked by the rise of Fascism. He initially supported the participation of the PPI in Benito Mussolinis first government in October 1922, the PPI split, and De Gasperi became secretary of the remaining anti-Fascist group in May 1924. In November 1926, in a climate of violence and intimidation by the Fascists. De Gasperi was arrested in March 1927 and sentenced to four years in prison, a year and a half in prison nearly broke De Gasperis health. During World War II, he organised the establishment of the first Christian Democracy party drawing upon the ideology of the Popular Party, in January 1943, he published Ideas for Reconstruction, which amounted to a programme for the party. He became the first general secretary of the new party in 1944, De Gasperi was the undisputed head of the Christian Democrats, the party that dominated Parliament for decades
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Konrad Adenauer
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Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman who served as the first post-war Chancellor of Germany from 1949 to 1963. He led his country from the ruins of World War II to a productive and prosperous nation that forged close relations with France, the United Kingdom, during his years in power West Germany achieved democracy, stability, international respect and economic prosperity. He was the first leader of the Christian Democratic Union, a Christian Democratic party that under his leadership became one of the most influential parties in the country, Adenauer, the Chancellor till age 87 was dubbed Der Alte. British historian Roy Jenkins says he was the oldest statesman ever to function in elected office and he belied his age by his intense work habits and his uncanny political instinct. He displayed a strong dedication to a vision of market-based liberal democracy. A shrewd politician, Adenauer was deeply committed to a Western-oriented foreign policy and he worked to restore the West German economy from the destruction of World War II to a central position in Europe, presiding over the German Economic Miracle. He reestablished the German military in 1955 and he came to terms with France, which made possible the economic unification of Western Europe. Adenauer opposed rival East Germany and made his nation a member of NATO, a devout Roman Catholic, he had been a leading Centre Party politician in the Weimar Republic, serving as Mayor of Cologne and as president of the Prussian State Council. Konrad Adenauer was born as the third of five children of Johann Konrad Adenauer and his wife Helene in Cologne, Rhenish Prussia and his siblings were August, Johannes, Lilli and Elisabeth, who died shortly after birth in c. In 1894, he completed his Abitur and began studying law and politics at the universities of Freiburg, Munich and Bonn. In 1896, at the age of 20, he was conscripted into the German army and he was a member of several Roman Catholic students associations under the K. St. V. He graduated in 1900 and afterwards worked as a lawyer at the court in Cologne and he was strongly interested in the use of medicinal herbs, according to famous French herbalist Maurice Messugue, whom he met and befriended. These were his favorite medicinal plants according to Messugue, though he had knowledge of a wide range of plants. He agreed with Messugue that plants had to be free of sprays and he told Messugue that he owed his good health to the plants, to nature. Adenauer found relaxation and great enjoyment in the Italian game of bocce, as a devout Catholic, he joined the Centre Party in 1906 and was elected to Colognes city council in the same year. In 1909, he became Vice-Mayor of Cologne, a metropolis with a population of 635,000 in 1914. From 1917 to 1933, he served as Mayor of Cologne, Adenauer headed Cologne during World War I, working closely with the army to maximize the citys role as a rear base of supply and transportation for the Western Front. He paid special attention to the food supply, enabling the residents to avoid the worst of the severe shortages that beset most German cities during 1918–19
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West Germany
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West Germany is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation on 23 May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990. During this Cold War era, NATO-aligned West Germany and Warsaw Pact-aligned East Germany were divided by the Inner German border, after 1961 West Berlin was physically separated from East Berlin as well as from East Germany by the Berlin Wall. This situation ended when East Germany was dissolved and its five states joined the ten states of the Federal Republic of Germany along with the reunified city-state of Berlin. With the reunification of West and East Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, enlarged now to sixteen states and this period is referred to as the Bonn Republic by historians, alluding to the interwar Weimar Republic and the post-reunification Berlin Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany was established from eleven states formed in the three Allied Zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, US and British forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Its population grew from roughly 51 million in 1950 to more than 63 million in 1990, the city of Bonn was its de facto capital city. The fourth Allied occupation zone was held by the Soviet Union, as a result, West Germany had a territory about half the size of the interbellum democratic Weimar Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided among the Western and Eastern blocs, Germany was de facto divided into two countries and two special territories, the Saarland and divided Berlin. The Federal Republic of Germany claimed a mandate for all of Germany. It took the line that the GDR was an illegally constituted puppet state, though the GDR did hold regular elections, these were not free and fair. For all practical purposes the GDR was a Soviet puppet state, from the West German perspective the GDR was therefore illegitimate. Three southwestern states of West Germany merged to form Baden-Württemberg in 1952, in addition to the resulting ten states, West Berlin was considered an unofficial de facto 11th state. It recognised the GDR as a de facto government within a single German nation that in turn was represented de jure by the West German state alone. From 1973 onward, East Germany recognised the existence of two German countries de jure, and the West as both de facto and de jure foreign country, the Federal Republic and the GDR agreed that neither of them could speak in the name of the other. The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had worked for an alignment with NATO rather than neutrality. He not only secured a membership in NATO but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present-day European Union, when the G6 was established in 1975, there was no question whether the Federal Republic of Germany would be a member as well. With the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, symbolised by the opening of the Berlin Wall, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and accede to the Federal Republic in 1990. Its five post-war states were reconstituted along with the reunited Berlin and they formally joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, raising the number of states from 10 to 16, ending the division of Germany
39.
Joseph Bech
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Joseph Bech was a Luxembourgian politician. He was the 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg, serving for eleven years and he returned to the position after World War II, becoming the 17th Prime Minister, serving for another four years, from 29 December 1953 until 29 March 1958. The 1982–1983 academic year at the College of Europe was named in his honour, Bech studied Law at Fribourg and Paris, before receiving his doctorate in law in 1912, and qualifying as a lawyer in 1914. The same year, on 30 June, he was elected to the Luxembourgian Chamber of Deputies for the newly founded Party of the Right, on 15 April 1921, Bech was appointed to Émile Reuters cabinet, holding the positions of Director-General for the Interior and Director-General for Education. In 1925, Bech lost these positions, as the Party of the Right was edged out of government by a coalition of all other parties, when Prüms coalition collapsed, in 1926, Bech became Prime Minister, as well as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Education and Wine-growing. He was to remain Foreign and Wine-growing Minister until 1954 and his term as Prime Minister, on the other hand, lasted until 1937, when he resigned over the outcome in the referendum on the Maulkuerfgesetz. At various points he held the portfolios of Agriculture, Arts and Sciences. In World War II Bech was the Foreign Minister of the Luxembourg government-in-exile in London, in this capacity he signed the Benelux Treaty in 1944. Bech is considered to be one of the Founding Fathers of the European Community and he was one of the participants of the Messina Conference in 1955, which would lead to the Treaty of Rome in 1957. He was Prime Minister again from 1953 to 1958, succeeding Pierre Dupong and he remained in the government until 1959, after this he was President of the Chamber of Deputies until 1964
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Luxembourg
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Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and its culture, people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures. It comprises two regions, the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe, Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe. As a representative democracy with a monarch, it is headed by a Grand Duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a country, with an advanced economy and the worlds highest GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, OECD, United Nations, NATO, and Benelux, reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic, political. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions. Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors, in the following centuries, Luxembourgs fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the French. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands and this arrangement was revised by the 1839 First Treaty of London, from which date Luxembourgs full independence is reckoned. In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union, the King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining a personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the throne of the Netherlands passed to his daughter Wilhelmina and this allowed Germany the military advantage of controlling and expanding the railways there. In August 1914, Imperial Germany violated Luxembourgs neutrality in the war by invading it in the war against France and this allowed Germany to use the railway lines, while at the same time denying them to France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation, Luxembourg was allowed to maintain much of its independence, in 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Luxembourgs neutrality was again violated when the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany entered the country, entirely without justification. A government in exile based in London supported the Allies, sending a group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944, and became a member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourgs neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, in 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held
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